What the Korps is Doing Now
by Leo the Tiger
Summary: Catching up on the casts' musical careers as part of Konway's drum corps.


**_What the Korps is Doing Now_**

Since the formation of Konway's Korps had been established, it was proof that the SWAT Kats and the other members of the SWAT Kats Band involved in the Korps had an alternative side to them in case the idea of the rock band didn't work out, which it did. And because of secrecy laws Konway made his comrades promise, no one else in Megakat City whom they were acquainted with knew about it, though some of the public who saw Leo the Patriotic Lion's speech on the flag, which involved Konway's Korps, were aware of it.

To remind the public of who was and still is involved in Konway's Korps, besides Dr. Konway, there was also Commander Ulysses Feral, Lenny Ringtail, the SWAT Kats, the Dark SWAT Kats (having been locked in the SWAT Kats' dimension instead of their own after a freak accident and have turned to the forces of good after a memory alteration resulting from that accident), Feral's Sergeant, Dark Kat, Lt. Commander Steele, Hard Drive, and Fango. Under normal circumstances, Feral, Ringtail, and Konway played the fife or the bugle, and Lt. Commander Steele, Hard Drive, and Fango took commanded of the bass drums while the rest performed on the snare drums. Since the Sergeant had been playing that kind of snare drum for quite some time (as a hobby), it was old hat to him. Having been involved with the ancient war drum of Megalith City, the snare drum was child's play to Dark Kat as well. But all members were required to learn all types of percussion, and in lesser circumstances, the fife or bugle if Feral, Ringtail, or Konway took ill. When it was their norm to play the drums if necessary, Feral and Konway always took the snare drum, and Lenny took bass drum.

In addition to playing "Yankee Doodle" and other such tunes on fifes and rope-tensioned snare and bass drums, the Korps began using a particular dress code for specific percussion instruments, with the notable exception of Dark Kat because of his purple skin and the clothes he wore anyway. (And since Dark Kat had been let out of jail on good behavior and proved he had lost his abilities to hatch evil plots, it would be easier for him to devote more time to the Korps.)

Specific red band uniforms were to be worn by Konway and his comrades when playing their drums and fifes (or bugles), or when involved in what Konway called "football drumming;" just think of the typical drumline in a marching band involved in a college football halftime show. In this case, use of drums was rotated depending on who was comfortable doing what, but Hard Drive always played the cymbals, Dark Kat was always involved with the bass drum, and the Sergeant and SWAT Kats continued to build up a reputation with the snare drum. Feral and Konway taught themselves the use of multiple tri-tom and tenor drums (or timp-toms as some call it; Feral always called it timp-toms). While most marching bands today don't use it, Fango, Steele, and the Dark SWAT Kats proved to have a knack for marching timpani. Otherwise, Fango played bass drum with the whole drumline, and snare drum when it was necessary to perform solo (Feral did likewise with the snare drum). All soldiers were barefoot despite their uniforms (and Dark Kat was barefoot anyway).

When involved in the oriental art of taiko drumming, or doing martial arts while drums were to be beaten, all except Dark Kat wore karate uniforms. The SWAT Kats and their dark counterparts already had black belts, and Konway and Fango had red belts at this point. Feral, having just started, had just moved from white to green, and the Sergeant had a brown belt. When drumming on taiko drums, Konway, Feral, and Lenny took command of the o-daiko (bass) drums. The littlest drums, simply called taiko drums, were beaten by the SWAT Kats, the Dark SWAT Kats, and the Sergeant. The rest pounded on xiadou drums.

In the case a solo was to be performed on a concert snare drum, improvisation of jazz on a drum set, or timpani, the member was to wear a tuxedo, but appear barefoot (a rule which applied to all forms of clothing). Of course, as previously stated, because of his clothes and reputation, Dark Kat was an exception to the rule.

In the case that bagpipes were to be used, the rule of bare feet and Dark Kat as an exception still applied, but this time the Korps members wore the Scottish kilts.

These were all cases of formality or when a performance was to be given. In any informal case, it was okay to mix and match or wear the clothing the cat was mostly seen wearing, or wear the right or wrong clothing for any type of drum or instrument. Feral and the Sergeant were often seen in public or private playing their drums in their police uniforms. The SWAT Kats and Dark SWAT Kats did likewise in their uniforms. While red was the official color for the Korps, Fango typically wore a green uniform and showed off his stuff with his marching snare drum in terms of football. Konway liked playing his rope snare drum in his karate uniform, and Hard Drive, in his red uniform, liked to play marching cadences on his xiadou drum or a taiko drum.

The most common solos to be formally performed involved Konway or Lenny on his fife or bugle, Commander Feral or T-Bone on his concert snare drum, Dark Kat or the Sergeant on his rope snare drum or bass drum (or if they had a duet, Dark Kat took helm of the rope bass drum), Steele on timpani, and Fango on his football snare drum. The most common duet involved the Sergeant on his rope snare drum while Feral played "Yankee Doodle" or other such tunes on his fife, or patriotic music on his bugle. These two, plus Hard Drive on a rope bass drum, made up a triple threat. Different types of snare and bass drums were needed if Feral was to play the bagpipes.

When drumming, T-Bone preferred sticking with a single drum while Razor and Fango sometimes tried to outdo each other on drum set. On numerous occasions, Fango would be playing his football snare drum, and Razor or T-Bone would take another set of sticks and attempt to outdo Fango on his own drum. But Fango always had an answer for everything, and the SWAT Kats had to conceal defeat most of the time.

Another oriental type of drum, the kakko drum, was frequently played by T-Bone while he was in his karate uniform. He always sat cross-legged in front of the drum and beat it with the most militaristic discipline possible.

It also become common to see some of these members produce instructional or educational videos involving these drums, sold in music stores all across Megakat City. Dark Kat and the Sergeant became associated with expertise on Civil War drum calls and why those types of drums are just as important today. Konway, Ringtail, and Hard Drive did likewise with taiko drumming. Fango taught rudimentals on his football snare drum (although having placed it on a drum stand instead of the harness worn on his body), T-Bone and Feral alternated with rudimentals on the concert snare drum, and Dark Razor taught timpani rudimentals. Razor gave the basics of the drum set in rock drumming, while Dark T-Bone did jazz drumming for the drum set.

As for other instruments in instructional or educational videos to be sold in music stores, Konway took the bugle, and Feral took the fife.

The Korps continues to be heavily involved with their stuff, so don't be surprised if they come parading down your street.

THE END

SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron © Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros.  
Leo the Patriotic Lion © me


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